EUCATORS TO DISCUSS OBE HERE SATURDAY

American Family Association state Director R.L. Beasley believes Outcome Based Education is a "dummy down" process that will lower academic standards in public schools.

To Beasley, OBE is a license for the federal government to set guidelines for teachers and administrators that have little to do with academics. He also thinks it pulls achievers down to a common level and removes the incentive to work for a high grade. "That's a dangerous thing," Beasley said. "It looks a lot like Big Brother is at work here."

The OBE system would force students who are achievers to slow down so that others who are not moving as fast can catch up, said Beasley.

"Any time you take away the right of the parent or local school board to make changes or have a say in how the current system works, you've got a serious problem," Beasley said. "OBE is totally away from academics and more toward telling us what we should all believe."

OBE is part of Missouri Senate Bill 380, The Outstanding Schools Act. The new law, coupled with a federal movement known as Goals 2000, would transfer decision-making authority over curriculum, teacher selection and assessment from the local to state and federal levels.

Beasley said a federal school board would be adopting the policies local school boards normally make. "OBE is coming in under the Trojan horse of academia, but what's really going on is that the Clinton administration wants to produce a national outcome that is uniform rather than focusing on producing a better student. Rather than test students on spelling or math, OBE would test students over vaguely stated goals."

Iris Stevens, who has earned graduate hours in secondary administration, and Debbie Pelley, who holds a master's degree in English and education counseling, will be in Cape Girardeau Saturday to discuss OBE. The public is invited to the meeting, scheduled for 2-5 p.m. at the Cape Girardeau Public Library, 711 N. Clark. The American Family Association, a nonprofit organization, will sponsor the event.

"We just want people to know what's going on and then let them make their own choice," Beasley said. "Our organization is strongly in favor of good academic education. We're behind having good teachers in the classroom. Our concern is with anyone who would want to inject their philosophies as part of the curriculum. That begins to become more of a religion."

Beasley said many parents would remove their children from the public school system if they knew the effects of Goals 2000 and Outcome Based Education.

"If this state and federal restructuring succeed, our children are going to be coming out of the school systems dumber," Beasley said. "Some people think you ought to do away with the grading system. They say you lose your self-esteem when you get a bad grade. I say that's just a slap in the face to the student who is willing to work toward achieving a good grade."